


Lost & Found

by emlee2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood, Blood and Injury, Car Accidents, Gen, Helicopters, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Peril, Power Couple, Search and Rescue Team AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:40:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emlee2/pseuds/emlee2
Summary: He’s about to ask when the bell goes off, a shrill sound that makes Kosmo bark loud enough that Shiro and Keith can hear him from up on the roof.Keith looks at Shiro and opens his mouth, but Shiro beats him to the punch, “Don’t say it.”“You-”“Keith.”“YOU-”“They’re not real!”Keith shoves a finger into the center of Shiro’s chest, “You fucking jinxed it, Shirogane.”Shiro pouts, following after Keith as they both un-tie their jumpsuits and shrug the sleeves over their shoulders, “I might have jinxed it.”
Relationships: Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 112





	Lost & Found

**Author's Note:**

> so this is halfway posted on twitter but I'm the worst and am posting it here in full (quietly) before the rest goes up :)

Storms in the Garrison Valley were like an act of God. With the windward side of the mountain being lush and green, the leeward side looked like a desert. All dead earth, cracked beneath the sun and desolate from desiccating winds. While the storm shook the trees from the ocean, the rain tumbled over the peak of the mountain and tore across the land, reigning debris into the river that flows between. Locals know better than to drive along the road that winds just beneath the ridge when there’s been a storm. A lack of root systems makes the mud unstable for at least a week after a heavy rain, pulling nearly a dozen rushed drivers into the pit, still overflowing with the storm runoff. 

After the drivers have been pulled out, after the water is coughed out of their lungs and they pass out from exhaustion, someone usually cracks a joke that the Garrison Emergency Medical Services are like the fishermen who live along the coast, what with the way that they pull people from the rapid. 

Surprisingly enough, the joke always falls flat.

But often enough, the poor idiot that drove along the ridge comes by the station and leaves something baked, a cake, a basket of muffins, an entire tray of lasagna, for the pilots of the helicopter that flew them to the hospital 10 miles east of the river. 

Keith will never complain about the muffins that Mrs. Sequoia, a woman who was rescued before Keith even moved out to Garrison, sends with her daughter after every storm. Always with a note, the chocolate chunk muffins are miraculously still warm by the time they get to them. Her daughter works at the hospital, which means that she has to wake up at least an half an hour earlier to get the muffins to the station before her shift, and god only knows how early Mrs. S was awake to make them fresh. 

But damn, when Keith hits a bug chunk of chocolate that practically rots his teeth, still warm and gooey and wonderful, he forgets all about how early it is and the criminal lack of caffeine in his system. 

“Keith.” Shiro is behind him, protein shake in hand looking every bit the health god Adonis that Keith married four years ago. 

“Yes?” He drops his head back, chocolate smudged over his lips. 

“If you keep moaning like that we’re going to have a problem,” his husband’s hand is gripping the shaker bottle especially tight. 

Never one to pass up a quickie, Keith smirks, “Who says it has to be a problem?” 

Shiro doesn’t go with it, ever so professional in the workplace, “I am not having sex with you in the coat closet we have less than an hour before we’re off.” 

Keith sits up and shoves the rest of the muffin in his mouth, “Now we don’t, you god damn jinx.” 

“I don’t-”

“If you say you don’t believe in jinxes I’m leaving you here.” 

“I have the keys.” 

Keith leans in for a kiss, chocolate still on his lips, “That’s what you think,” and he plucks the keys from Shiro’s belt. Shiro doesn’t notice, or if he does he doesn’t say anything, and meets him in the middle. 

Mornings on the helipad are in the top three favorites for this job. One is definitely working with his husband (and therefore seeing that magnificent ass in aviation gear), the other is the actual helping people bit, but mornings when the sun paints the sky in lilacs, oranges, and reds along the edge of the clouds- definitely number three. 

He wraps an arm around Keith and pulls him close, savoring the warmth of the hug against the cool morning air. The rain that had come last night brought the temperatures down into the 40s, but today was going to be a beautiful day. After a well earned nap, maybe he could drag Keith and Kosmo along for a run. 

There would likely be banana pancakes promised for when they get home, but Shiro wouldn’t mind. 

He’s about to ask when the bell goes off, a shrill sound that makes Kosmo bark loud enough that Shiro and Keith can hear him from up on the roof. 

Keith looks at Shiro and opens his mouth, but Shiro beats him to the punch, “Don’t say it.”

“You-”

“Keith.”

“YOU-”

“They’re not real!” 

Keith shoves a finger into the center of Shiro’s chest, “You fucking jinxed it, Shirogane.” 

Shiro pouts, following after Keith as they both un-tie their jumpsuits and shrug the sleeves over their shoulders, “I might have jinxed it.” 

“What’s the word?” Keith asks, plucking Kosmo’s harness off the hook while the overgrown German Shepard jumps around his feet, excited to go to work. He slips it over his head and secures the bright orange SEARCH AND RESCUE coat over the clips along Kosmo’s flank. 

Allura is grabbing her gear out of the back of the ambulance, “All hands on deck, we have a driver and two passengers off the ridge, car is halfway in the river so we’re on a clock.” 

Shiro grabs the climbing gear and throws it over his shoulder, “Do we have clear landing site?” 

“Road is stable, no mudslides reported yet. Seems the rain is just enough to bring up the river. Caller said there’s white caps.” 

The three of them run up to the helipad, Kosmo taking off to jump in and hook his harness to his clip. Shiro hands off the gear to Keith and jumps into the take off protocols. 

Once their helmets are on, Keith follows his checks and asks Allura, “Do we know who needs extracted?” 

“Two minors, 5 and 7, and an adult, presumably mum.” 

“Which end of the car is submerged?”

Shiro calls for clear to fly, and the helo is off the pad. The landing site is eight miles due southwest, about 400 feet above where they were extracting. 

“Tail end, start praying that the wheels are stuck enough in the mud.” Allura is already securing splints and C-collars to the basket, preparing for spinal injuries from how the car likely rolled down the mountain. If it was a mudslide, there would have at least been some slope to the crash, but without it, the car would have hit anything along the way and the force could have easily turned passengers into projectiles. 

But if the car is swept away, that means approximately nothing. Even with light rains, the river swells with two foot waves and the white caps mean its flowing fast enough to sweep an adult under the moment they’re in it. 

Keith’s leg bounces and he looks at Shiro, “You ready.” 

Shiro smiles, “Born ready.” 

Allura sticks her head up between their seats, “Please tell me you didn’t have sex in the coat closet again.” 

Keith grins wickedly, “I don’t kiss and tell.” 

“No, I fended him off this time.” Shiro tells Allura, who smacks Keith on the arm. 

The rapids are in sight, and Keith spots the red compact being hit with the river. He also sees that the front door is open and, “Are you fucking kidding me?” 

“What?” Shiro asks, readying the helo for landing. 

Keith is pulling his flight suit off in his seat, a skill that took years to perfect, and tugging his wetsuit over his t-shirt and shorts, “Bystanders are making a human chain. How fast can we get this down?” 

Allura swears and pulls on her wetsuit as well, “This is going to turn into a water rescue.” 

“I can rough the landing, make sure Kosmo is buckled in,” Shiro tips the nose of the helo down, bringing them in to skid along the roadway. They all bounce with the impact, seatbelts cutting into their shoulders and laps, but no one pays attention to it. Police aren’t on scene to block the road yet, but they don’t exactly have time to set up flares.

The moment they settle, Keith is vaulting over the seats to unbuckle Kosmo. The dog won’t be following them into the ravine just yet, but if they have to switch to a search it’s best if he’s at the ready. There are three cars parked along the guard rails, a woman leans over the edge to watch what happens below. 

Keith calls out, “Excuse me?” 

She spins, her red hair catching the early light. She drawls, “Oh thank god, my husband and two other drivers went down to pull the people out of the car, it looks like they’re going to be swept away.” 

Keith doesn’t have time for small talk, he cuts right to the chase, “Are there ONLY three people in the ravine?”

The woman is clutching at a necklace, “Yes, they had to get the people out of the car, they were-”

He doesn’t bother to listen, muttering under his breath while he clips his harness into place, “Idiots.” 

She sputters, but Allura arrives in time to rest a hand on her shoulder, “He’s right. The best thing you could have done is stayed put. But police and fire are on the way, we’ll do our best to keep them safe in the meantime.” 

Shiro comes jogging over to them, his wet suit on and his harness hanging off his hips as he tightens the straps on his thighs. He calls down to Keith, “Anyone in the water?” 

“Nope, car looks like it’s holding steady, six total down here!” 

Keith clips out of the repel and wraps another rope around the base of a boulder, clipping it to his harness. 

“I need you all to get the fuck out of here!” He yells over the rushing water, catching the attention of the three men trying to play hero. 

“What? There are kids in there! We can help!” A blonde with the same accent as the redhead from the road says, stepping toward Keith. 

Keith grabs his shoulders and shoves him away from the river, “You can’t to jack shit if there’s a surge and you get swept away, too. Get back to the ropes and get out of the ravine.” 

Allura is lowering the basket and Shiro is already climbing down with his own lines as well as extra ropes and harnesses. They can hear the sirens getting closer. 

Keith clears out the other two drivers, sending them back to the road with their metaphorical tail between their legs. The front door on the passenger side of the car is still open, but the water rushing underneath it is enough to deter anyone from climbing out. Keith leans around, trying to keep his feet steady, “Hi there! My name’s Keith, I’m going to try and get you three out, okay?”  
The two kids nod their heads, the seven year old is a girl that is clearly trying to be strong for her little brother. Keith looks them over, only mild scrapes and bruises from what he can see of them. The boy has a laceration on his hairline that looks a lot worse than it probably is, the girl has a split lip that had to hurt. They’re both in the front seat, holding onto their mom’s hand. 

Mom is crying, still in her seatbelt, “I can’t- I can’t, I can’t feel-”

Keith steps into the water, the current is strong but he’s able to stand steady, “Ma’am? Ma’am can you hear me?” 

She looks at him, but she’s still muttering nonsense. 

He holds up his hands, “Ma’am look at your kids. Look at your kids, they’re right here. They’re okay, but you’re scaring them.” 

The woman continues crying, but she stops babbling, her eyes going wide. “Good,” Keith soothes, “I’m going to get them out first, then I’m going to come and see what’s happening on your side, does that sound like a plan?” 

The woman nods, “Good. Okay, we’re good,” Keith turns his attention to the kids, “Can you tell me your names?” 

The boy starts hiccuping, trying to sound out a “R-r-ry” but he’s too upset. Keith looks to his sister, who speaks softly, “I’m Ronnie, this is my baby brother, Ryan. He’s five.” 

“Hi Ronnie, it’s nice to meet you. Can you tell me if you hit your head when you were falling?” 

She nods her head yes. 

“Okay, how about Ryan? Did he hit his head?” 

“I- I don’t know, I didn’t see.” She says, her lip wobbling. 

Keith smiles, from the corner of his eye he can see Allura bringing him collars for the kids, “That’s okay, Ronnie, this was really scary, huh? Sometimes its hard to see things when we’re scared. But here’s what we’re going to do,” he reaches a hand behind him, taking the collars, “I’m going to put these on you and your brother, its like those silly things that clowns wear and its not very comfortable, but it’s going to keep your neck safe when we get you out of the car, okay?” 

Ronnie nods her head, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. 

“Alright, can you tell me if you hurt anywhere?” 

She nods, “M-my wrist hurts.” 

Keith fastens the c-collar around Ryan’s neck and ties the rope in a simple harness around his waist, “I’m so sorry Ronnie. My friend Allura, the pretty lady with the white hair? She’s going to take a look at your wrist for you, okay?” 

“Are you going to help my mom, too? She’s really scared.” 

He softens, “Of course I am, kiddo. But I think your mom would want me to make sure that you’re safe first. So I’m going to take your brother,” Keith pulls the little boy from her arms, “And Allura is going to look at him really quick, then he’ll go sit with my best friend while we get you out.” 

He hands the little boy off to Allura, “I couldn’t ask if he was hurt anywhere.” 

Allura takes him, “Got it.” She walks away to put him in the basket and send him up to where police are waiting. Shiro is looking for ways to get Mom out of the car, but the rapids are rising and pinning her car door shut. He runs back to Allura, “We’re going to have to pull her out passenger side.” 

The medic is solemn, “Did you see how the wheel is pinning her? That’s a lumbar fracture, if not a complete pelvic. We won’t be able to stabilize that if the wheel is putting pressure on her IVC, or anything else for that matter.” 

Shiro stops, and runs over to their gear, a plan forming in the back of his mind. 

On Keith’s side of the car, Ronnie sniffles, “Does your best friend come to work with you?” 

Keith smiles and wraps the c-collar around her neck, “He sure does, he’s the best at finding people who are lost.” 

“How does he do that?” 

“Well,” Keith smiles, “He’s actually a dog, so he’s the best at smelling where people might have been. He helps us follow trails when we’re looking for people who got lost.” 

Ronnie giggles, “Your best friend is a dog?” 

“Kosmo is the /best dog ever, Ronnie, I’ll have you know.” He finishes tying the harness around her waist, “You ready to get out of here?” 

She looks back at her mom, who has stopped crying and is squeezing her daughter’s hand, “Promise to get my mom out?” 

He looks up at her mom, who has a worrying streak of red from the corner of her mouth, “I am going to do everything I can, Ronnie.” 

The little girl nods, wrapping her arms around Keith’s neck. 

Her mom coughs, “Thank you.” He nods, moving Ronnie back to where Allura is waiting with the second basket. 

As soon as he sets her down, Allura gets to work splinting her wrist and doing a field work up while he runs back to were Shiro is tying knots in a length of rope, making it stiff. 

“Shiro she has a completely unstable pelvis and there’s no way we’re going to be able to get her out driver side.” 

“I know.” Shiro stands and moves back to the car. 

Keith stands in front of the passenger door and calls over the windshield, “Care to fill me in?” 

Shiro holds up the ropes, a system of loops and pulls with two rods along what Keith assumes to be the back. “Compound binding, first on her chest, slow the flow through her IVC and constrict the gastric artery, then we’ll do what we can to stabilize her pelvis pre-extraction.” 

Keith nods and leans in the car, reaching for her hand, “Did you hear that?” 

She nods, “I don’t know what any of it means, though.”

Keith laughs, “That’s okay. Can you tell me your name?” 

She takes a deep breath,“It’s Lauren.” 

“Alrightm Lauren. I am so sorry, but none of this is going to feel good. Hopefully, your body will tell your nerves to shut the hell up, but we’re going to put you in a rib-binding and then we’re going to tie it really tight, okay?” 

“Sounds peachy,” she says, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“It does, doesn’t it?” Keith jokes back, he climbs into the passenger seat to wrap the c-collar around her neck, “So tell me about Ronnie, she seems like quite the character.” 

“She is,” Lauren coughs, a little bit of blood hitting her hand, “She got kicked out of dance lessons.” 

“She did?” Keith asks, trying to keep her talking. 

Lauren tilts her chin so that Keith can finish putting the collar on her, “Yep. Her teacher tried to correct her grand plie and she put her hands on her hips and said, ‘you can’t tell me I’m wrong when you never taught me anyway!’” The woman tries to laugh, but ends up grimacing with the effort. 

“She’s strong, that one, I can tell.” Keith says, reaching behind him for the binding that Shiro made. 

Shiro hands it to him, “Ronnie is cleared aside from the fractured wrist, she and Ryan are riding the ambulances to the hospital.” 

“You hear that Lauren? Your kids are okay enough that we don’t have to deal with my husband’s aggressive flying to get them to the hospital.” 

Lauren smiles, her eyes drooping shut. “Lauren? Hey, Lauren keep your eyes on me. Open those eyes for me.” Keith says, tying the knots as fast as he possibly can. 

She cracks her eyes open, “Make sure my mom doesn’t give them too much sugar, yeah?” 

Keith reaches for the pelvic binding, “Make sure yourself, Lauren.” 

“Sounds good.” She says, more blood trailing down her chin. Her eyes slide shut. 

Keith calls over his shoulder, “Shiro! Make sure we have defibrillator set up we just lost consciousness!”

“Do you still have a pulse?” Shiro asks after relaying the message to Allura. Ronnie is safely on the road way. 

“It’s thready but it’s there, we’re ready to pull her out!” 

Keith and Shiro’s walkies go off on their belts, “Surge reported at Garrison Station, 0604” 

“Keith we have three minutes to get her out and clipped in.”

“Fuck. Give me the board, this isn’t going to be pretty.” 

Shiro hands the board in, watching the water creep higher over their feet. 

Keith is a machine, securing Lauren’s back to the folded board. Once she’s stable there, he calls to Shiro, “How much time?” 

“2:15!” 

“Let’s pull her out!” Keith starts moving, trying to ignore the faint groan of pain that falls from her lips. The water his up to his calves by the time he’s out of the car.

Shiro is right behind him,“C’mon baby, you get her legs from under the wheel, I have the board.” 

Allura comes running down, “I have the basket, make sure your loops are ready to clip in!” 

Keith frees her legs and tightens the binding on her pelvis. It’s quick, it’s dirty, but it’ll do. “She’s free, flip the board and lets get the fuck out of here.” 

Shiro pulls her free from the car, Keith straps her legs to the board. They rush her over to the basket and the three of them sprint back to the lines. Shiro and Allura secure the basket while Keith clips their harnesses in, loops connecting to the same lines that will bring Lauren up to the road. 

Behind them, the car is swept away by rising waters. 

Allura tugs the line, “Bring us up!” 

The water is at their feet even at the furthest edge of the bank. 

The basket starts moving, Allura going with it. 

The water is up to their calves and moving fast. Keith spots the wave around the bend. 

Shiro tugs his rope, “Ready to fly!” He calls. 

Keith can’t get his loop open. 

Someone shouts down to him, “Kogane, you ready to fly?!” 

“My loop isn’t working,” Keith whispers. 

“Keith?” Shiro calls, his feet propped against the wall of the ravine. 

“My loop isn’t working!” Keith shouts up. 

Shiro looks to the river, the wave barreling towards them in slow motion. 

“Drop me down!” He shouts up to the belay.

“We can’t-”

Shiro unclips his loop and drops to where Keith is standing, miraculously landing on his feet despite the rushing water. 

“Shiro what the fuck-”

He clips his loop to Keith’s, attaching their harnesses. 

The water is at their waists. 

The loop connects to Keith’s line. Shiro tugs. 

The wave is going to hit. 

“Ready to fly!” Shiro shouts. 

He wraps his arms around Keith, cradling his head into his chest. 

The wave hits. 

The water rushes over their heads. 

The world goes dark. 

It’s loud, then everything is silent. 

The thing about going under a wave like that is when it hits, it’s like being in negative pressure. All the air rushes out of your lungs. You couldn’t breathe the water in even if you wanted to. It pulls you along, unforgiving and suffocating in the way that it cradles you. If you’re in the direction of the current, the water gets forced into your lungs. 

Shiro feels it against the back of his head, debris hitting him as the water churns and the crests of waves push them down. The current pulls them away from the face of the cliff, but the ropes pull them back in, crashing against the wall. 

And then, with one sharp tug on the line, they’re above water. Shiro gasps for breath, prosthetic clinging to the rope and his arm holding tightly to Keith.

“You okay Keith?”

His hair is in his face, the wave must have swept out his braid. 

“Keith? Baby?”

They’re pulled over the edge of the cliff, onto the road. Kosmo comes racing up to them, sniffing Keith. 

“Baby?” Shiro tilts his chin up, his eyes are still shut. He hasn’t coughed yet.

“Get him out of his harness! Where’s Allura?!” Shiro unclips Keith from the line and lays him flat on the ground. Kosmo whines and licks Keith’s face. He shakes his shoulders, “Keith, c’mon baby I need you to cough. Come on.” 

Shiro leans over his mouth and listens for breathing, spotting the dark red water collecting on the pavement under Keith’s hair. 

Kosmo runs over to the helicopter, grabbing Allura’s wrist between his teeth. He drags her over to Keith and Shiro, “What the hell happened?!” 

Shiro rips Keith’s wetsuit down the middle, the fabric digging into his flesh hand. “Keith’s clip locked up,” he slides his fingers over Keith’s sternum, “We got pulled up together,” he rests the heels of his palms over his husbands chest, “the wave hit,” one, two, three, four, “and Keith must have- he must have hit his head, or the water, or—”

Allura slides her hands over Shiro’s, “Look at me.” 

Shiro doesn’t stop compressions, “Allura.” 

“Let me.” 

“I can’t lose him.” 

“Let me help him, Shiro.” 

Shiro leans onto his heels, his hands falling to his sides, Allura taking over compressions. 

He doesn’t notice the tears running down his face, or if he does, he doesn’t mention them. Just like his keys that morning. Kosmo leans into him, licking the salt off his face, “I can’t- I can’t lose him.”  
Allura calls for a medic to come give Keith rescue breaths. 

They switch off. Thirty compressions. Two breaths.

They switch off. Thirty compressions. A watery cough. 

A watery cough. 

Shiro surges forward, “Keith?! Baby can you hear me?! Keith?!”

Keith takes a ragged breath, “Owww.”

Shiro sobs, leaning forward to hold Keith’s cold cheeks and kiss everywhere he can, “You brat. You absolute brat, never scare me like that again.” 

Keith cracks his eyes open, “Why’d you let ‘Lura do compressions? Thought you loved me.”

He laughs, a choked sound filled with tears, “I love you so much. I love you. I love you.” 

“Think she broke my ribs,” Keith whines. Kosmo’s entire body is wiggling with how fast his tail is moving. 

Shiro rests his forehead against Keith’s, “Good. Maybe it’ll make you check your clip before sending everyone else up.” 

Allura rests a hand over Keith’s, letting herself relax enough to cry as the adrenaline still rushes through her system, “What on Earth were you thinking, Keith? You could have died.” 

“You just about finished the job,” Keith laughs and grimaces as soon as he does it, “Fuck that hurts.” 

“Remember that next time you feel the urge to be an idiot!” Allura shouts, tears splashing against the pavement. Kosmo barks in agreement, laying down and resting his head on Keith’s shoulder.  
The four of them take a moment before lifting Keith and loading him onto a stretcher. Thankfully, the next shift of pilots came in with the rig, Lance McClain and Hunk Garret already have the helicopter ready to fly by the time they load Keith in next to Lauren. 

It’s a tight fit, two stretchers and two passengers in the hold, but they manage. Kosmo, much to his dismay, has to hitch a ride back to the station with Kolivan in the rig.

Allura continues to tend to Lauren, but Hunk has already stabilized her while Allura was with Keith. All she has to do is adjust the bindings and start working on her splints. She monitors Keith as she works. 

Shiro holds his hand and slides his fingers through his wet hair, making him promise over and over to never be so stupid ever again. 

“You’re not allowed to go before I do, you hear me?” 

Keith groans, “Out of all the things you could have used to scold me, that’s the one you pick?” 

Shiro presses his lips to the back of Keith’s hand, “I’m in emotional distress because my husband is an idiot, I’m allowed to scold you however I want.” 

The helicopter takes off just as the sun comes out from behind the clouds, its rays shimmering all around them as the river rushes below. 

—— 

When they land at Garrison General Hospital, Mrs. S’s daughter is waiting for them on the roof. A team of doctors takes Lauren down first, Allura relaying her condition from the field as they go.  
Shiro climbs off with Hunk, following Keith’s stretcher as it’s carted into the freight elevator. 

Keith grins, “Hey Shay, long time no see.” 

“Been a long time since I’ve seen someone this awake off the helo, hope you didn’t get any special treatment,” she says kindly. 

Shiro squeezes Keith’s hand, “Nope, just looking after our local self sacrificial idiot. You know how it is.” 

The door closes behind them, the first quiet moment since they left the station that morning. Hunk is catching Shay up to speed, running through Keith’s list of injuries that they were able to identify in flight, then mentioning a recipe for her mom that he would have to bring by later. 

Keith has his eyes closed against the bright lights, but his breathing is steady. Shiro can feel his pulse, strong as ever, from where his hand clutches Keith’s. 

“Stop that,” Keith says softly. 

Shiro smoothes a thumb over his pulse, “Stop what?” 

“Waiting for my heart to stop.”

He pauses, catching himself, “I’m not. Just holding your hand.” 

Keith hums, “I’ve had worse than a few broken ribs and a concussion, you know that.”

“You inhaled a lot of water, Keith, you could go into respiratory distress.”

Keith looks over at Shay as the elevator doors open, “Shay?”

“Yes?” She pauses her conversation with Hunk.

“Am I going to go into respiratory distress?”

She raises an eyebrow, “No?”

“See,” the little shit has the audacity to smile, a big toothy grin that makes his dimples pop out, “I’m fine, Shiro.” 

He squeezes his husband’s hand, their rings glinting with every passing light, “I’ll believe it when your workup is in my hands.” 

“Stick in the mud,” Keith sing-songs, letting go of Shiro’s hand as they wheel him through the doors of the trauma bay for his formal evaluation, “Love you!”

\--

They keep Keith overnight for observation, Shiro firmly planted at his bedside to keep him company while he’s on concussion watch. He’s getting a round of IV antibiotics to make sure his lungs don’t get infected from the water, Shiro is on a ten day prescription for the same, but other than that, he’s fine. 

And, despite his best efforts to stay awake and keep Keith talking, he falls asleep.

Keith waits for him to start snoring, the tell-tale sign that Shiro is dead to the world, and slips out of bed. His hospital socks stick to the floor with every step and a nurse that he knows from bringing patients in gives him the stink eye. 

“You should be in a wheelchair, Kogane.” 

Keith rubs the back of his neck, “Can you point me to pediatrics? I don’t know my way around beyond the pad and the ER.” 

The nurse looks him up and down, “No, because I could lose my job if I let a /patient wander the halls in the middle of the night,” She takes a post it from her desk, “But you can take your walk around to the elevator down the hall, on the left, and if your IV pole slips and presses the button for 7 then we might have a problem on our hands.” 

Keith takes the piece of paper from her hands, “Thanks.” 

“Mhm,” she doesn’t look up, “Be back before that husband of yours wakes up.” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

Keith strides through the hallway, calling the elevator and looking over his shoulder for hospital personnel. The post it says to take seven, turn left, and walk straight through the set of doors to be in pediatric. He figures that the kids are probably going through his same course of treatment and they’re probably missing their mom. 

He forgets that he’ll have to pass the nurse’s station as soon as he enters the ward. 

“Sir?” A young man asks.

Keith stops in his tracks, slowly turning his head as if moving less would keep the nurse from seeing him. 

“Can I help you? Visiting hours are over,” He says kindly. There are captain America shields all over his scrub top.

Keith thinks about lying, saying that he’s a parent, but he knows it won’t go over well when he’s found out. 

“I’m uh,” he sighs, “I was on search and rescue for the car that fell off of the ridge this morning, was hoping I could check on the kids.” 

Captain America sighs, standing to direct Keith out of the ward, “Medics aren’t allowed to-”

He’s interrupted by a shout, “Keith!”

Ronnie comes barreling out of the ward, her pediatric life specialist making a grab for the back of her gown. She evades her, jumping at Keith for a hug. 

Keith crouches down to meet her, “Hey kiddo, how are you feeling!” 

Ronnie grins, “I got a cast! Can you sign it?” She turns to her PLS, “Can Keith sign my cast Miss Romelle?” 

The woman smiles, caving in and pulling a handful of sharpies from her white coat, “If he wants to, sure.” She turns to the nurse, “It’s okay. I’ll be here.” 

Ronnie pulls Keith along, talking about all the cool doctors that helped her and her little brother. 

Ryan is quietly playing with some legos in his bed, the only sign that he had been in an accident at all was the little bandaid covering the stitches on his head lac. 

Keith sits in one of the chairs, listening intently to Ronnie as she talks and talks and talks. He signs her cast, drawing a little helicopter and a cartoon dog next to his name. Romelle asks if he knows anything about a ‘giant wolf’ when she sees it, and Keith fills her in about Kosmo. 

Keith stays until the sun is starting to rise, the sky outside fading from purple to yellow, “I have to go before my husband wakes up and starts missing me, kiddo.” 

Ronnie pouts, “I don’t want you to go, Keith.” She hugs him so tight that his ribs ache. He doesn’t complain. 

“Tell you what,” he offers, “When you and your brother and your mom are feeling better, the three of you can come by the station and I’ll show you that cool helicopter your mom got to ride in, okay?” 

Ronnie sniffles and lets him go, “Is Kosmo going to be there?”

“Of course, he has important work to do!” 

She nods, wiping her cheeks, “Okay.”

“Okay,” Keith stands, ruffling her hair and heading over to give Ryan a fist bump, “Watch out for your mom and sister, little man.” 

He beams, showing off a smile that’s missing a tooth.

\--

When he gets back to his room, Shiro is still snoring peacefully. Keith leans over and kisses his cheek, “Hey there, sleepy head.” 

“Mmf? What’re you doin’ out of bed?” Shiro asks, rubbing his eyes blearily. He stretches his arms over his head and pops his shoulders, no doubt a twisted mess from sleeping in the chair. 

“Went for a walk.” Keith climbs into his lap, leaning his head on Shiro’s shoulder. 

Shiro holds him close, mindful of his ribs as he runs his hands over Keith’s side, “Sorry I fell asleep on you.” 

“S’okay,” Keith hums, “Was a long two days.” 

Shiro nods, still half asleep, “Maybe I shouldn’t have jinxed us.” 

“You think?” Keith laughs, tracing a finger along the hollow of Shiro’s throat mindlessly. 

The nurse that helped Keith get to pediatrics leans in, “We have your discharge papers ready whenever you are.” 

Keith nods his head, but makes no effort to get up. Shiro holds out a hand for the clipboard, taking it with a quiet, “Thank you,” and working on filling out the forms. 

They leave the hospital two hours later with firm orders for Keith to rest while his ribs and mild concussion heal. 

Well, Shiro has firm orders to make sure that Keith rests and lets himself heal. Keith stopped listening when the nurse told him he could put his pants back on. When he steps out of the hospital, he spots Kolivan letting go of Kosmo’s leash. The german shepherd comes sprinting up to him, jumping up and down in front of Keith. He knows better than to jump on Keith, thankfully, but the dog has never been so happy to see his human. 

Kolivan just doesn’t give him scratches the right way. 

Keith kneels down and wraps his arms around Kosmo’s neck, squeezing him close, “I’m sorry buddy. I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

The dog huffs and give Keith’s face a thorough washing in order to accept his apology. 

Shiro rolls his eyes, “You apologize to him, but not me.” 

Keith glares at his husband playfully, “I tried to apologize to you but you said no blowjobs until my ribs heal.” Shiro pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation and Kolivan coughs from where he stands. 

When Keith comes to his feet, he laces his fingers with his husband’s and leans into his side, “I am sorry, though.” 

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Shiro murmurs, pressing a kiss to Keith’s temple. 

Kolivan steps forward, “Mrs. S has called the station six times this morning. I think as soon as she knows you’re not dead, she might try and kill you.” 

“Did Shay tell her?!” Keith shouts, cradling his ribs when they smart with the effort. 

Kolivan shrugs, turning on his heel, “You better call her and say you’re alright.” 

Keith looks to Shiro for back up, “That has to be a HIPAA violation.” 

His husband just smiles and guides Keith to the parking lot while Kosmo happily runs circles around their feet, “We’ll worry about it later. Let’s go home, I’m in the mood for banana pancakes.”

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on [twitter!!](https://twitter.com/yolkswagen2)


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